I came up with this topic after watching a similar video from an anime reviewer on you tube, Forneverworld ( https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UGbWaw3YhT4) and i thought i would give my thoughts on it, because as an otaku, specifically a watcher of shonen anime and manga, this affects me.

Let's face some facts, these three awesome anime and manga that we have enjoyed for the last 10-12 years will eventually end, and our lives will be all the worse for it. But what happens after.

These guys are old, time to move on

We have heard all the talk, all the rumors and the interviews detailing the future of these fine shows. Basically after 10 years, we have began down the path to the end. Nothing lasts for ever and while these three are all the series some have known their whole lives of anime, we can't expect these works to be the lives of those great mangaka. Eventually they have to move on to some new, possibly even greater, and once they bow out of the game, what next.

First i must correct some erroneous assumptions that have been floating out there for a while, specifically the belief that we are literally in the last days of the big three and that we should treasure every new week that we get a new chapter before it's all gone.

Yes, we know one piece has a long way to go; however the assumption that we have ten whole years ahead just because Oda said we had just hit the half way mark is an illogical assumption. All three mangaka have proven how masterful they really are as story tellers when they stated that they all (actually only Oda and kishimoto said so, proving once again that Kubo is probably making crap up as he goes- Ichigo is a quincy? Really?) that they had the very last chapter for each of their respective shows planned out.

Wait, they didn't just say they had their last chapters planned out, they iterated that they had their very last chapter drawn out in detail in their heads. That tells you that these guys are not just making things up. They have a plan

In that very statement, they each go on to admit that certain story lines will either go longer or shorter than expected. Kishimoto specifically spoke of planning to tell a certain story in a few chapters, only for it to extend into several dozen chapters of an arc. This has also happened in reverse, with arcs going shorter than originally expected.

Basically even if the start of the new world in one piece was the half way point, that doesn't mean we have ten more years of one piece. Oda might have had the mid way point in mind, but the plots to reach that point might have extended further than originally intended. That would mean that he might even have shorter material in the second half which, if executed according to his original timeline, could wrap up in a few years.

Some people will say that Oda has spoken of One piece going another ten years. I will correct that; Oda has said that he HOPES one piece could go another ten years. If the story was to wrap up earlier, Oda isn't the kind of writer that would force one piece to go past its expiry date. In other words he is no Akira Toriyama (Dragon Ball Z anyone?).

One piece aside, we have Bleach which most people assume will be wrapping up soon enough. They would be wrong as well. Yes, this is the last arc. But Kubo made it clear that this would be the longest arc in the series' history. The arrancar arc is bleach's longest arc to date, and it went a little over two years. The thousand year blood war will be longer than that, way longer; which means we could be looking at five years from now.

With Naruto, we have all heard Kishimoto say that Naruto is winding down. In the interview i have linked here(http://naruto-mangaspoiler.blogspot.com/2012/02/masashi-kishimoto-interview-of-year.html / or it might be http://narutonetwork.tumblr.com/post/14381320082/masashi-kishimoto-interview-at-jump-festa-2012; i am not really sure)-hope its the right one- Kishimoto says that he wasn't lying in 2011, Naruto is winding down. However he admits to making terrible underestimations in the two year time period he gave himself to wrap up. In this interview and others he clarifies that he didn't realise that he had so much story to tell and apparently it will take much longer to not only wrap up these stories, but to introduce whatever new characters are still to come to the fro.

Basically i am trying to say that you don't have to worry. It will be a while before the big three disappear. And even if they do, it will be at the very least five years after each of them have ended before any show can even begin to consider taking their coveted spots.

And the reason? Dragon ball Z wrapped up more than a decade ago, and it's still bigger than most anime series right now. Rest assured that long after these shows fall,they will stay alive in so many other ways.

With Naruto we already have the anime spinoff 'Rock Lee and his friends' or whatever its called. I recently came across a manga of naruto, a sort of fan made fan fiction story that had been approved by Kishimoto (By recently i mean last year, it had a whole Wikipedia page with characters and what not; now i can't find it). It tells the story of naruto several years after the defeat of tobi and Madara, during which Sasuke and naruto perished taking down the two villains. Now Konoha has a whole new Hokage from the newly built land of the whirl pools, entire clans of sage mode users and so on.

Basically they created a new naruto world, Kishimoto liked it, and they should be releasing it as an official manga from a parallel dimension soon (unless they scrapped it). And even if that doesn't get off the ground, Kishimoto, when asked about the future of naruto related works after naruto wraps up, showed interest in spinoffs, one of which would follow rock lee, or another that would chronicle the life of the fourth hokage (Seriously, that would be awesome).

But once the dust settles, what next. Ever since the harry potter franchise wrapped up, Hollywood has been fighting tooth and nail to find another money making replacement to cash in on the hype (Hunger games isn't it). Why wouldn't Shonen jump and the rest do the same? Naruto and One piece are two manga whose sales would single handedly affect shonen jump and viz media's overall sales figures, accounting for a considerable percentage. they won't want to let that go.

Natsu and grey like that idea

Many have made suggestions as to who the next titans of manga and anime would be. We heard suggestions of fairy tail. I love fairy tail but even i was surprised at how ridiculously popular this fluffy show has become. Many of you will deny the quality of this piece and even state that only a few out their like it. I will burst that bubble because even i didn't know this. There nearly as many fairy tail fans as there are bleach fans, or at least close to it. Most otaku that don't get one piece jump to fairy tail.

Hiro knows how to do epic.

I will however dismiss the claim that it could be big three material. One, it fails to be serious enough. Two, it's really not serious. Three, at chapter 310, naruto, bleach and one piece were bigger than it is now-i should correct my self, fairy tail has as many fans as bleach did during the arrancar arc.

This could have been awesome

I have heard suggestions of blue exorcist. Admittedly that show was big three material and if it had only gone another 60 episodes, it would have been explosive. unfortunately, due to a lazy mangaka, blue exorcist received a claymore treatment; it was given an anime only ending at just 25 episodes because the manga had stopped.

Many mention toriko. For most of you who don't know, toriko is one piece with food. I am serious; just listen to the first opening theme; its starts out just like one piece did in the beginning, except that instead of the pirate era, toriko lives in the gourmet era. Toriko isn't bad, and the cross over episodes with one piece were hilarious. While i don't see it as big three material, i believe it could actually achieve that status, let's sit back and wait.

Don't be deceived by the look, it isn't that cool

Many offered up Katekyos: hitman reborn. I hate that show. It is wildly popular, and do you know what fans say to none fans to get them to give it a chance? Apparently 'It gets good at episode 60" Which leaves me wondering, what was it doing for the first 59 episodes? Anyway, just know that reborn is a hit man sent to train the new head of his crime family, who happens to be a high school kid. Oh, and reborn the legendary and feared hit man is a talking baby (NO, HELL NO!!)

Reborn the manga was cancelled for all of you anime fans; so count every new reborn episode you get (Good riddance).

Apart from these shows, i have heard little of any other show that could take the world by storm. If i was to give my biased opinion, then i would say claymore, if it picked up speed as a weekly series. That manga is AWESOME...AND SLOW AS HELL.

This is gamaran, read it.

Gamaran in action

But with what things are, and based on what i have read, i would recommend Gamaran. It has most of the typical shonen elements that made the big three so great, and a few new ones to boot.

Beyond these i cannot think of any other contenders. You might think i am being narrow minded on these choices. I am not; check out any forums, none of those weird unheard of manga you love so much will even get a mention. I am not being mean. I am serious. I didn't even know fairy tail was contender, i don't think it can even be big three material. Yet check the internet, you will find fairy tail fans crazier than even one piece fans (One piece fans are a little too passionate on the forums is have read).

Gamaran again; i am being biased now.

Check out this link from animevice's the vice pit where Tom Pinchuk and Sam Weller discuss a similar topic.(http://www.animevice.com/news/fairy-tail-the-next-top-shonen-the-vice-pit/6533/)

I will be happy to hear your views on this matter, specifically why you think your unmentioned manga/anime deserves to be a contender for the coveted spot on the throne of big three. My unbiased opinion says that only one show stands a chance to replace the memory of these juggernauts and that's HunterxHunter (sorry gamaran). This show is the closest thing to naruto that i have watched.

I will also give you my honest unbiased opinion. THE ERA OF THE BIG THREE WILL SOON END. NONE CAN AND SHALL EVER TAKE ITS PLACE. THEY CAME, THEY SAW AND THEY WILL CONQUER, BEFORE DISAPPEARING INTO THE MISTS OF MEMORY AND TIME.